Innholdsfortegnelse for August 2000 i Hot Rod

WE’VE GOT A FRIEND Many years ago (in 1963), the SEMA appellate stood for “Speed Equipment Manufacturer’s Association,” and its annual gala was held in California at the Anaheim Convention Center. It was a celebration of hard-core race parts and a demeanor specific to them. Products for the street scene as it is today did not exist then. Racing was more than a theme, it was an attitude. And why not? The NHRA was in its heyday, and if you weren’t connected with it, you just weren’t makin’ it. In 1972, I was the editor of Car Craft. Our thrust was hard-core door-slammer drag racing tech, a modicum of nitromethane, and hot street freaks. Even then, it was becoming clear that the musclecar epoch was under increasingly cloudy skies and…

The best thing about hot rodding is there is no “right” way to do it. Each car symbolizes its owner’s interests, priorities, and individuality. One approach that seems to be getting a second look from rodders ready to break away from the pack is the “’60s Gasser” theme. To catch the vibe, suspensions are jacked up into the stratosphere, straight beam axles and leaf springs replace cushy factory parts, white spaghetti headers play peek-a-boo behind skinny front tires, and a subtle, sometimes crude, simplicity wins out over complexity. The look isn’t always pretty, but it just drips with character and overpowers every other car within 500 feet of it. The uninitiated may look at these wooly wonders and assume they’ve gotta be practically useless in the real world. If so,…

It’s the quiet ones you have to watch. Oh, the vintage alloy rims, the missing front valance, and the side-exit exhaust are tip-offs that something dastardly might be up with this particular ’62 Plymouth Belvedere. But that exterior? Clean. Too clean. A little too “who, me?” in the middle of a performance riot. Too grand-manonymous, to coin a word with far too many letters. So Dave Robertson, owner of this particular beast, hops in and twists the key. And, er, hmm. Nothing. Well, it starts, but all of the chatter and grinding and whining and histrionics that you’d expect are somehow unexpectedly and sadly absent. The idle is pudding-smooth. Whatever rumpity noises you would expect of a prepped 383, a Max Wedge, or even a Hemi are simply AWOL. Certainly…

There was a time when the LA street racing scene was abuzz with a car known only as “The Four Door.” It looked like grandma’s grocery beater, yet was capable of low 12s on generic brand “Big O” 215/75R14 radial tires, and this unholy terror suckered the competition from Compton to Ontario. The owner and builder of this wicked understatement is Jimmy Mock, a furnace repairman from Placentia, California. By his own admission, the street racing years were a ton of fun, but too many close calls with The Man woke him up to the harsh reality of the dark side of illegal bashing. “All it takes is one bust, and your world is changed,” he says. “They can take your car, your driver’s license, and your freedom.” For all…

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All-Original Rich Masters’ ’68 GTO was a real find. The Niagra Falls, New York, resident has just 48,000 miles on his triple-black beauty, and even the lustrous paint is original—no Bondo or touch-ups! He claims to have paid $6,000 for it five years ago; sounds like a steal. Gramma’s Pro Street Steve Glyzewski of Midlothian, Illinois, says this ’72 Skylark has been in the family since new—it was his grandparents’ ride for years. Now it’s his, so naturally there’s an 8-71-blown Buick 455 with a pair of Holley 750 double-pumpers sticking out of the hood and about 800 hp to play with. That’ll wake the old folks up. No Resto Queen Do you assume, just because only 912 Hurst/Olds models were built in ’69, that none of our readers would…

Coming Soon on SUVs… Adaptable to Musclecars? Great big SUVs, those most ungainly transportation creatures, are about to get a leg-up on maneuverability thanks to a new four-wheel steering developed by Delphi. Better yet, there may be a practical application for hot rodders as well. The system works with existing truck mechanicals, and four components (a front wheel position sensor, a steerable rear axle, an electric motor-driven actuator, and the control computer) determine which of three steering phases the vehicle will adopt. The computer calculates the angle of the rear wheels according to steering input and vehicle speed. At slower speeds, rear wheels turn in the opposite direction of the fronts for better parking-lot maneuverability; this is called opposite phase. Opposite phase gives a 19-foot-long Chevy Tahoe nearly the same…

The American Car Dealership By Robert Genat MBI Publishing It is easy to lose sight of the fact that virtually every car on the road was at one time sold new by a smiling salesman. Robert Genat’s book The American Car Dealership offers a historical look at how automotive retail outlets have evolved and changed from the turn of the last century to the present. Within its 160 pages, readers will find highly detailed accounts of virtually every aspect of the car sales business. Six chapters explain and discuss dealership architecture, special promotions, salesmen and the art of the deal, used car strategy, and parts and service. Beyond the clearly written text, readers will delight in the 175 images (100 in full color) that pack the book. There are just…

For more than 40 years, a battle has raged over which automatic transmission is best for high-performance use. Chrysler guys swear by the 904 and 727 Torqueflite; GM guys praise the TH350/400 family; and the Ford camp rallies around the C-4 and C-6. Well, guess what? Each of these seemingly different transmission designs is based on a patent filed by Howard W. Simpson on December 13, 1955, and approved by the U.S. Patent Office on October 21, 1958, as patent number 2,856,794. The Simpson-type three-speed automatic transmission is characterized by a compound planetary gearset (one for Second gear, one for Reverse) that shares a common sun gear. Multiple-disc clutches, sprags, roller clutches, and bands provide the friction elements required to obtain the desired function of the compound planetary gearset and…

One of the more adventuresome (read “high-dollar”) trends of the ’90s has been the metal morphing of early postwar passenger cars and light trucks into such stylistically startling examples as CadZZilla, CheZoom, and Sniper. These fanciful carcepts—based on a ’59 Cadillac, a ’57 Chevrolet, and a ’54 Plymouth respectively—represent hot rodding’s “what if” factor. What if the designers of these original passenger cars were commissioned to upgrade their work to current trends and capabilities? Marshall Chesrown’s “Real-mad” is simply another successful example of applying the what-if factor to a Chevy classic known as the Nomad. One of the ways Chevrolet used to create excitement and further publicize its new, postwar car line was to throw in a zinger. The ’53 Corvette was one, and its companion ’54 “Waldorf Nomad” was…

For 2000, the Power Fest adjusts its Alabama venue from Huntsville to Montgomery. The change was largely precipitated by the quarter-mile facilities (Huntsville is an eighth-mile), but the bonus was closer proximity to cars we’ve not seen before. Many locals toughed the brisk wind on Saturday while attendees of Sunday’s running were seized by a beautiful spring day. In all, the move to Montgomery Motorsports Park seemed a positive one, and the event was praised by racers and show competitors alike. Power Festival 2000 Sponsors FEATURING SPONSORED BY CLASS SPONSORS OFFICIAL PRODUCTS CONTINGENCY SPONSORS ATI, AUTOMETER, BG FUELS, BORLA PERFORMANCE, COMPETITION CAMS, CSI. DEMON CARB, EDELBROCK, FLOWMASTER, FORD RACING. REDMAN HEDDERS, HOLLEY, HOOSIER RACING TIRE, MICKEY THOMPSON TIRES, M0R0S0 PERFORMANCE, MOSER ENGINEERING, MR. GASKET COMPANY, MSO IGNITION, NITROUS WORKS, TENNECO,…

Go With the Flow SuperFlow SuperFlow’s Towing Dynamometer allows the operator to simulate “real world” terrain testing at a test track. The Dyno is highway-legal—fully equipped with lights, reflectors, turn signals, surge brakes, and a vehicle connector plug. Information: Super-Flow, Dept. HR08, 3512 N. Tejon, Colorado Springs, CO 80907; 800/471-7701. Meet Jack Test Rite Products The ACDelco Rapid Jack from Test Rite Products uses a two-stage pump mechanism that reduces unloaded pumping effort by 80 percent to full lifting height as compared to conventional trolley jacks. An automatic preset load adjustment switches from fast action pumping to normal lifting action to reduce effort. Information: Test Rite Products, Dept. HR08, 5620 Knott Ave., Buena Park, CA 90621; 800/551-0268. T for You Mr. Gasket Mr. Gasket announces new Hurst T-handles for your…

THE POWER OF (!) Blown Catera a Go for 2002 Cadillac’s all-new rear-drive 2002 Catera will feature a supercharged 3.0L V-6 as a performance option. This engine is similar to the one seen in the Steinmetz Catera that we drove last spring (“Si8,000 Paint Job,” May ’00.) Base model Cateras are said to increase engine displacement to 3.2L, but the supercharged engine will remain at 3.0L. The production variant is said to provide approximately 260 hp—detuned slightly from the showcar’s power figures, doubtless to accommodate lower-octane American fuel as well as emissions. All-new styling is said to be dramatic, and will help establish Cadillac’s new avant-garde family face as seen on showcars Evoq and Imaj, and hinted at with the 2000 DeVille. The power boost should help solidify Cadillac’s recent…

Since rods are rarely sourced from a single host, building one is an eclectic enterprise. However, an amalgamation of unrelated parts can create what I call “theme-less” plans. Every rod needs to have a theme—be it resto, rusto, retro, rat, or reet. Happily, Steve Curry’s Bob Furry-built ’57 is a superb example of the nose-high, straight-axle ’60s Gasser theme. Veterans of the Gasser Wars suffered traction-challenged suspension systems that were exacerbated by hard, skinny drag slicks. The only way to hook ‘em up was to create weight transfer by mounting the engine as high as possible and installing a minimal straight front axle. This type of arrangement worked well, and most of the cars in the Altered, Gasser, and Street Roadster classes relied on this praying mantis approach to enhance…

Bruce Crower grew up with legendary figures Clint Brawner, Paul Schiefer, Jim Rathmann, Zora Arkus-Duntov, and Don Garlits—and became a legend himself. His projects included the first multi-carburetor intake manifold for overhead valve racing engines, a multiple disc clutch, rollerized cams, and innovative cylinder heads, in addition to the many clutch, injector, camshaft, crank, and rod products that have made his name synonymous with “speed.” We begin part two with another Crower innovation: the first wing for a Top Fuel dragster—GB Crower continued as part of the Rathmann team until 1964, when the veteran driver decided to call it quits. With the help of brother Dave, sister Linda, and brother-in-law Loren Harris, Bruce took two years off to build up the business. Still, the ever-active Crower would dabble here and…

I remember when nitromethane was called the “poor man’s supercharger.” Thirty-five years later, nitrous oxide has assumed the same mantel. However, nitrous (once the dominant power source in those classes in which NMCA allows its use) is no longer a cheap way to fly. True, Tony Christian’s juiced ’57 did in Bob Rieger’s S-10 with a 6.762/205.19 to a losing 6.958/189 in Pro Street, but Rieger’s 6.703/208.23 low class qualifier illustrates the power generated by an alternative power source, namely turbocharging. Marc Dantoni has also mastered the use of juice, and his 6.672/209.15 ’97 Monte Carlo proves it. But Dantoni has also been given a weight break. So now the blower boys and Hank Hill’s unblown 815-inch shotgun-hemi-powered ’97 T-bird are playing catch-up. The other winners (Tony Bischoff, Hot Street;…

The modern SUV is a shill, a sham, a Trojan horse. Hello? It’s a truck. Full frame, V8 power if you’re lucky, power steering/brakes/windows, rear wheels driving most of the time until you tell it otherwise. It’s a new name for the good old station wagon, except it sits higher and now costs $40K. Yet station wagons are on life support in Detroit (only little ones, like Saturns and Focuses, are still built) while SUVs continue to burn up the sales charts Seats in leather, all-wheel-drive underneath, some freaky Big Brother electronics inside, jack it up to the sky to give the housefraus of America some weird sense of empowerment and security, and suddenly its a “sport/utility vehicle.” Bleah. Funny thing about sport/utilities; they don’t pack much sport or utility…

In the South of 50 or 60 years ago, much that was hot rodding wasn’t a hobby…it wasn’t even a lifestyle. Oh, it existed, all right, but instead of being fun for its own sake, it was a means to an end, a necessity to help you get through the day while enjoying the sweet taste or freedom. Anonymous, dark-colored coupes with large trunks and beefed-up mechanicals hauled illegal 190-proof corn whiskey down narrow, twisty back roads, hoping against hope that Johnny Law didn’t catch wind of it. And when they did, well, the chase was on. Quiet looks belied the high-strung guts and pent-up rage of a caged animal poked with a stick; more flattie power, bigger tires that tucked under the wheelwells, and severely stiffened suspensions (for, as…

“Crank it in until you hear a snap, then back off a half turn.” Few automotive experiences are as gut-churning as having a bolt let go just as you’re about to stop tightening. It happens to all of us, and while it may seem like the end of the world, retrieval is actually quite straightforward. Oscar Alvarez of Johnson Machine Service (JMS) shows us how it’s done. Source JMS Dept, HR08, 724 E. Huntington Or., Monrovia, CA 91016-3614; 626/357-2718…